Mich. teacher: I was fired over Trayvon fundraiser

DETROIT (AP)—A Michigan teacher says she was fired for encouraging her students to organize a fundraiser for the family of Trayvon Martin, a Florida teenager shot to death by a neighborhood watch volunteer.

Brooke Harris said Tuesday she’s confused by her dismissal last month from Pontiac Academy for Excellence Middle School.

The literature teacher says she was supporting some students who planned a wear-a-hoodie-to-school day in memory of Martin. The unarmed 17-year-old was wearing a hoodie Feb. 26 when he was killed.

Harris says she did everything “by the book” and doesn’t think she did anything wrong.

Superintendent Jacqueline Cassell says she doesn’t oppose activism but that the effort would have distracted students from their studies.

The Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., says Harris should be reinstated.